Report: IBM to Lay Off Hundreds

After having reportedly scuttled thousands of jobs already this year, IBM is in the midst of another round of layoffs that is expected to affect hundreds of its employees, according to an IBM employee group.

After having reportedly scuttled thousands of jobs already this year, IBM
is in the midst of another round of layoffs that is expected to affect hundreds
of its employees, according to an IBM employee group.
According to Alliance@IBM, an
organization working to unionize IBM's U.S.
employees, Big Blue is cutting hundreds of jobs, primarily in the company's
Global Business Services (GBS) unit. Lee Conrad, national coordinator of Alliance@IBM,
said that at least 200 jobs will be cut as a result of this latest round of
layoffs.

Moreover, on the Alliance@IBM
Website, an anonymous commenter wrote: "Layoffs are happening in GBS /
Industrial today, just got notified. Haven't counted yet, but by my eye looks
like about 200 affected."

Alliance@IBM said IBM
has laid off up to 5,000 or more employees thus far in 2009. IBM
was unable to be reached for comment.
However, local
newspapers in New York's Hudson Valley area, where IBM
is headquartered and employs thousands of workers in various locations,
reported word of possible job cuts on the horizon.
Reports of this new round of layoffs come just after IBM
reported profits of $3.1 billion for its second quarter of 2009, despite a
drop-off in revenues of 13.3 percent. IBM's positive financial results appear
to come largely from layoffs and other cost-cutting measures, as well as a
shift in the company's business to higher-value solutions for customers.

Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.